BG Designs for Painters: Vol. 1 - Wide Keys Pack

Built on the experience of drawing many backgrounds for adult animated shows such as Inside Job (Netflix), and Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount), I wanted to create original packs of production-ready backgrounds made for BG Painters to practice and build their portfolios with! The PSD files included in this pack are no different than ones I've handed to my art directors in the past, and I hope can provide a good satisfying challenge!

Starting in Pack Vol. 1, you get a selection of three wide angle keys set in half urban/half natural settings providing an array of color, material, lighting and atmosphere challenges for painting.
Each BG is at least 5K in resolution.

Who is this for?

Anyone! However, if you are currently a student or someone with prospects to work in BG Paint targeting more detailed / adult animated show styles, this pack will apply to you most, and will give you a good idea what you could expect on a real show production as a painter.

Likewise, If you've worked professionally before but are looking to beef up your portfolio with more new work, this pack should also help you out

Even if you're learning to be a BG Designer, this pack can help you understand the setup for tackling certain Design situations such as logical layering of different elements and clean file setup that's ready for a painter to receive. Tinker and pick these files apart to improve your own BG Designs, especially helpful knowledge for the first time you get an art test!

Lastly, you might just be someone who likes coloring / painting for fun. In which case, have at it and I hope these are challenging but satisfying for you!

What do I do?

This pack is not a tutorial, and does not come with a guide on how to paint backgrounds. These are resources meant to provide someone who already has knowledge of digital painting with challenging work samples to practice or build their portfolio further. A written prompt is given for each background describing key details to remember as you paint the scene, no different than when you're given assignments from your art director. Following the prompts is not necessary for these BG's if you want to approach painting them your own way, but if you want direction, the prompts are there.

Where can I show off my finished paint?

Anywhere! If you complete a BG, put it in your portfolio, share it on your social media, the only requirement is that you keep my Design credit visible in the footer bar -- and likewise, don't forget to add your own name and portfolio website so people know you painted it!

Are you available for help and feedback?

Aside from questions related to the direct usage of these files, I'm not currently available to give painting advice, critique and feedback on your work, but I might offer that service at some point in the future! But still feel free to tag me on social media if you post your work, though, I still want to see it!

What am I not allowed to do with them?

These PSD files and their contents are meant as learning and career building resources only. They (in part and in whole) are not stock imagery and aren't for use in any other project or product, and cannot be repacked and publicly redistributed.

System Requirements?

BG Paint work can be quite demanding on your computer!

Photoshop is the animation industry standard app for BG painting, and I recommend using it if you're serious about wanting to work professionally. Clip Studio Paint will also work reliably, and can open the supplied PSD files -- it can run slower with layer heavy files than Photoshop, but it should still get the job done. Procreate, however, may not have enough system memory available on most iPads to handle the resolution and number of layers a typical BG paint may require. You're welcome to try using Procreate, but I cannot guarantee stable compatibility.

Working on one of these files will require at least 16GB of system memory, as just opening one will consume about 6GB. Painting requires even more memory and CPU power. 32GB memory is recommended for a reliable (smooooth and less crashy) experience.

PC: Recommend a Quad-core Intel i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 CPU, accelerated by a dedicated GPU (Nvidia GTX 1060 or better, Radeon RX5500 or better.)

Mac: Any system running an Intel quad-core i5 or i7 CPU with dedicated GPU, (27" iMac, Macbook Pro 15 or 16,) or an M1-equipped system, M1 Pro preferred. The new M1 Pro Macbook Pros and base M1 Max Mac Studio are stellar performers. If using an M1 Mac Mini, having 32GB of memory will be noticeably smoother for paint work. Make sure you're using an updated version of Photoshop that is "Apple Silicon / M1 Native."